Wisdom of the Trees [Destyn, Sivan]

[Talisman]

25 Frost, Year 124

[Closed - Sivan, Destyn]

It was late afternoon, perhaps a few hours before dinner time, when guests arrived at Sivan’s tower. Frost was getting into full swing in Kalzasi, though he and the spirits around him protected the garden to ease the worst of the cold. Despite that, around and outside of there was the beginning of snow. It wasn't falling now, at least, but more would come as it always did. It did at least hold off until Hilana had gone home, restoring his yard to the pristine environment she had arrived to, making sure that all the grass her tent had been sitting on was back to normal and unharmed. His spirit friends would be whispering to him. Company had come, strange company, old company. Three of them, and they were outside. One at the door of the tower, and two were looking at the rocky hillside that kept his yard relatively private. Old, but friendly... the spirits were rather excited about this company, at least, whether that was good or bad perhaps remained to be seen.

Standing there at the door was a rather diminutive, and somewhat scaly creature. They… she, perhaps, was humanoid, though some features of their face tended strongly towards reptilian, was waiting patiently until the door opened. Eyes that were sizable in her face were a bright purple, with two sets of horns on her head - one smaller pair closer to her forehead, with the other pair much larger and prominent behind them. Her ears were elf-shaped, but seemed to be leathery rather than normal skin. She wore a rather simple cloak that covered her from her shoulders to her feet. There was no sign yet of the other two that his friends had alerted him to, but if he had a look, he would get the idea that one was overhead, though after a moment, the second came into view with a number of spirits.

Where the one that had knocked on his door was not even up to Sivan's chest, even with the horns, the second one was considerably taller and broad in the shoulders, perhaps broader than an elf might normally be. But their ears did suggest elf blood somewhere, even if bright green eyes laughed as he smiled in greeting. Shaggy gold hair that was fairly wild hung around his ears, and unlike his shorter companion, he wore a sleeveless tunic over trousers, and surprisingly, his feet were bare. It may not have been deep frost yet, but there was a decided chill in the air, though the spirits around him seemed intent on modulating the temperatures and keeping him very comfortable. A rather floofy white bird was perched on his shoulder, and a decidedly fat tanuki was waddling after him.

"Good afternoon," the purple-eyed girl? woman? spoke up rather cheerfully. "I don't suppose you would be Sivan Sunrunner?" Semblance would show both of them to be rather well connected to the elements and the spirits around them, and the smaller one, despite her relatively youthful appearance, was older than dirt. The elf with her was younger, but still a good age for an Hytori. "We were wondering if we could see the young tree that you've got growing in your yard. It's about... Rath, could you, please?" she looked up at the blond with her, and he held his hand a little over Sivan's height. "Thank you," she smiled up at him, and then looked back to Sivan.

[Sivan]

There hadn't been anything terribly pressing to do at the Forge and as Tavárinoikos seemed to work him harder when he was in Silfanore to make up for time lost when he was in Kalzasi, he was only too happy to go home early. In any case, he wanted to make sure everything was ready for his trip back to the elven capital. Laurevere had synchronized their comings and goings, ostensibly to make it easier for Sivan to cross the borders. Sivan thought he just liked being around him; Laurevere was a stiff sort of fellow and Sivan got the idea he didn't have many friends. Sivan didn't either, and so they solved each other's problem.

If Laurevere was going, so was Destyn. He was rather sure at this point that Destyn had followed Laurevere to Silfanore and not Sivan nor Torin. The elf didn't feel slighted, and if he didn't understand why Destyn was twitterpated and Laurevere tolerated the fae with all of his heart, well, he didn't understand most matters of the heart.

Somewhere between the front door that led into the tower and the back door that led out into the garden, he lost his boots as was his wont. He heard Laurevere and Destyn exit the nobly born elf's town house in the next yard even as the spirits in his began to vibrate with excitement.

A gentle knock on the front door was carried to his ears by Nunut, and he went to investigate as a sudden chorus of spirits' voices in his head (some words, some mere impressions) confused the issue. But Exael materialized beside the door before he opened it.

Old Ones, he declared, and Sivan nodded in acknowledgement before opening the door. His eyes saw another elf standing a bit back, then fell to the diminutive spirit-woman.

"I am he." He paused, brow furrowing slightly, but he knew the sapling of which she spoke even before Rath elaborated with a hand held high. "Certainly. Come with me, please." And, in Mythrasi for the elf, "Be welcome in my home, cousin."

Exael towered over all of them. He didn't have eyes or true expressions on what counted as his face, at least that most could read, but he nodded to them as they passed through and out into the garden just as Laurevere walked through the moon gate between his yard and Sivan's garden, rolling his eyes at something or another Destyn had said as the mutable fae followed.

"Your timing is fortuitous," he said as he led them past the Living Grave tree that held Flower and his curse in stasis, a bee nest in its branches. "The one who planted it is here."

Laurevere's brow hiked up as he moved to meet Sivan and his guests before the altar Talon Novalys had erected without a by-your-leave, its crystal shining with dawnfire. That had helped maintain this sanctuary during the Eclipse, and a load of dragon manure had helped the seed grow into the sapling it had become. Adventures seemed to be required at various growth points for the mysterious thing.

Its own spirit knew Sivan, but hadn't learned yet how to communicate properly with him. It was a work in progress.

"My guests, these are Laurevere Val'Istra and Destynrael Dromlach’darach, who discovered the seed in Ecith. Laurevere, Destyn, these are Rath and..." He realized he hadn't caught her name, nor the elf's surname. Perhaps he was a bad host after all.

[Destyn]

Destyn shrugged in response to Laurevere’s dismissal.

“Well, I bet that there would be good buggies in the Warrens. I told you how big the buggies that crawl on the bottom of the sea get! They are very sweet and delicious, but also they, you know, pinch.” He broke away from the elf and started toward his sapling for a check in, when Sivan’s voice attracted his attention, which was cast over a shoulder. He blinked at the sight of strange guests. He shifted his full body to face them directly.

“Hello Rathand.” He offered with a feverishly fast wave of one hand. He looked to Sivan with uncertainty. He wasn’t accustomed to strangers in the garden and, instinctively, he shifted his body to one side to veil his sapling from view, spreading his translucent wings for greater coverage in a feigned stretch of the limbs.

His gaze returned to the strangers as he examined them, curiously. Were they visitors from Silfanore, he wondered? The smaller one was of an ill unlike any he could recall having encountered in the past, and he tended to have a good memory for such distinctions.

“What brings you to, um… here?” He inquired, doing his best to sound cordial and not suspicious and failing spectacularly. His social graces were not graceful enough, after all, to successfully execute such a feint. He wasn’t aware that he was narrowing his eyes and that his full lips were curling into an animalistic snarl, even as he attempted a disarming smile. It only ended up making him appear rather malevolent. Perhaps a glint of Dawnfire even appended the sunlight cast across his eyes.

[Talisman]

They would follow him in, and the purple-eyed one gave Exael a deep, respectful nod, and so too did Rath as they passed. The tanuki waddled faster, refusing to be left behind, and scampered after the Elf. "We thank you," she told him.

"The pleasure is ours. We are grateful for your hospitality," Rath returned in Mythrasi, smiling at Sivan. He did stop to pick up the tanuki and tucked him into his elbow. The chunky creature was quite happy with this perch, and the bird on his shoulder let out a cheeping sound to greet Sivan, fluffing its feathers to show off and try to attract his attention.

They seemed to know what they were looking for, but they followed along and admired the garden. The Hytori in particular seemed quite impressed with it, nodding along approvingly. When he introduced them to his neighbours, she smiled up at them. "What a beautiful glade. Forgive me. I am Kimith. It is a pleasure to meet you, Sivan, Lord Val'Istra, and Destynrael. You have met Rath, and Hin'tai'oth is up there," her head tipped all the way back, and she let out a sound not unlike the hoot of an owl before straightening herself up and turning her attention to the subject of their curiosity.

When Destyn attempted to shield the tree and made an attempt at a smile, neither of them was too put off about it. The bird that had been sitting on Rath's shoulder chirped again, and took flight, moving to the settle on one of the branches of the small tree, singing its song. "Hin'tai'oth felt the tree's presence, and reached out to us to see we might examine it and confirm if it was what he thought it might have been--"

They were joined by yet another stranger, and this one was, perhaps surprisingly, also Fae. Where Destyn stood to one side, the newcomer landed on the other side. "And it is, yes?" this stranger spoke in a voice that strongly resembled birdsong in terms of pitch and cadence. "It is?" he looked to Rath and Kimith around Destyn. His wings were those of a butterfly's, grey and white and black. He was nearly as tall as Rath was, who was taller than the others gathered, excepting Exael, of course. His eyes did not seem to have pupils, but he was looking at those gathered just fine. He was rather lean and wiry, clad in vines and leaves, with leaves contrasting in his charcoal grey hair.

"Might I ask where you procured the seed for it?" Rath asked mildly instead, making no move to examine it closer with the way Destyn was protectively between it and them.

[Sivan]

"Are you speaking of the sea slug again?" Laurevere asked. He did listen to Destyn's rambles, but he didn't always retain them. "Was she Rathari or Fae'ethalan?" He wasn't certain what a sea slug looked like. Haera loved the sea; he had loved the blade more than swimming. So perhaps sea slugs had pincers or claws or similar. It was strange to hear of someone the normally sunny-faced dragonfly-boy actually hated, so he did at least recall her.

But then there were strangers and he was as aloof and urbane as ever.

Sivan was leading them and Laurevere knew Sivan was safe here. All the same, he wished he had come girded with his elegantly curved blades. Perhaps he had grown lax in his vigilance here in the city of the construct-kings. His hand rested upon Destyn's shoulder, casual-seeming, though there was strength in his hand. Wild things needed leashes sometimes.

Their host, however, was plucking a few nuts and dried berries from a cleft in the Living Grave to offer to the tanuki. No doubt it was a small stash of the squealmouse who had lived here since before Laurevere had become his neighbor.

"Welcome to my home," Sivan said again now that he had names and could do so more formally, "Kimith, Rath, Hin'tai'oth." He offered the small bounty to the tanuki and to the bird if the tanuki would share. Sivan was curious to know more about the strange seedling that had grown in his garden, but he was also intent upon being a good host. "Would anyone like refreshment? I do have more than nuts and berries in the larder."

Laurevere bowed with Hytori grace, eyes spending perhaps a touch longer upon Rath than the others. To his mind, the Hytori would be the easiest to communicate with, but he could be diplomatic with all. He had managed his bow without releasing Destyn's shoulder, and he gave it an invisible squeeze, this one to remind him that Laurevere was there and he needn't puff up defensively.

[Destyn]

“No! I did not eat the slug! It did not appear palatable to the tongue. It certainly was not palatable to the ear…”

Laurevere’s hand was enough to disarm Destyn enough that he lowered his wings. It seemed his attempt at concealment had failed anyway. His posture, on the whole, softened as another Fae alighted near him and he cast a wide-eyed gaze to the similarly appointed faerie.

“Dia duit! Is páiste samhraidh mé! Cén séasúr a bhfreastalaíonn tú?” He exclaimed in excited Valasren.

“You came about my baby tree?” Destyn blinked, returning his gaze to the other visitors. “I have had visions about it, so I know that it is special. The seed fell on my head in South Ecith on the beach. I brought it back here and it felt right to, you know, sow it.” He shrugged, unaccustomed to explaining his actions.

He placed a hand on the small of Laurevere’s back and turned back to regard the fellow Fae.

“I do not know much about the baby tree. I have just been doing what felt right and, you know, trying my best to interpret the green dreams that pertain to it. I take them for, um… instruction. I procured light during the eclipse and we collected fertiliser to feed and hurry its growth. It is now, you know, me-sized. That is very quick for a tree, so we have done, I think, a good job.

“You will not take away the tree, now, will you? Was I ‘sposed to planet it where I founded it in South Ecith?” He knitted his brow and looked pleasingly to the other fae.

“ Dia duit! Is páiste samhraidh mé! Cén séasúr a bhfreastalaíonn tú!”

[Talisman]

The tanuki was thoroughly delighted with the offerings, and probably did not need any more treats and snacks, but this was clearly a creature that would never turn down any chance of a meal. Of course, with how lean things had been during the Eclipse, that was surely understandable. It was absolutely voracious, but let out a little bark what had to be something akin to a thank you. He absolutely was not about to share with the bird, but the little white puffball of a bird was all too happy to alight on Sivan's finger and take what he would feed it. Rath only smiled to see the way his animal friends interacted with the other blond Elf.

Kimith offered a little bow of her own to Laurevere at his gesture, and Rath did as well. Hin'tai'oth was more focused on Destyn and the tree, and missed the gesture entirely. Sometimes one had to pick their battles, and the Hytori of the trio of strangers offered an a murmur of apologies for the Fae to Laurevere in Mythrasi. He seemed familiar with how the Fae'ethalan could be, after all. "That is very kind of you, but I do not know how long we will be staying. You needn't go to any trouble on our behalf."

"Dia duit, deartháir an tSamhraidh. Is as Cúirt an Earraigh mé. Is mór an pléisiúr bualadh leat, agus gabhaim beannachtaí agus leithscéal as cur isteach!" Hin'tai'oth returned to Destyn, offering a smile of his own. He didn't touch the Destyn-sized tree, but he was looking over it as all listened to Destyn's explanations. The other Fae semed quite interested in it, and perhaps a bit awed.

"You have done incredibly well with it," Rath assured him. "You did not have to plant it in South Ecith, and I think it is better that you chose to plant it here. This was a safe and special place for your baby tree to grow. You have looked after it and nurtured it." He included Sivan in this - he seemed to know that the other Elf had helped Destyn along the way with it. "But you are right, it has grown quite quickly for a tree. Our concern is that if it stays here, and keeps growing at the rate it does, it will become too big for Kalzasi. The foliage of Ecith is massive... and this is one such tree that will be even bigger. It has a very long way to go, and when it reaches its full potential..."

"What we would like to propose is that it be transplanted in a safe spot outside of the city, where you can get to it, and others will not be bothered by it... but you can still check on it however often you like." Kimith offered. "It will be hidden and protected from people who would harm it, and as it grows, it will not attract the negative attention of the Synnekar that will not like how big it might get. I know that this is not the best season to safely transplant something, but between the group of us, success is certain." She did seem confident as she looked up at all of the much taller people around her. "Hin'tai'oth does not care for cities, and he prefers the wilds... so he has volunteered to stay with it and keep watch."

"It is it, then?" Hin'tai'oth asked Rath, turning his head in a rather bird-like fashion at an angle that was not possible for a normal person. He didn't seem to need to wait for an answer before his head whipped right back around to look at the tree again. "It is. Is é do rogha. Is é do chrann é. Ach ní bheidh sé sábháilte anseo nuair a choinníonn sé ag fás, a dheartháir." He returned to Valasren to address Destyn once more. It may have been that he was less comfortable with other languages, or perhaps he was just tickled to see another Fae, but that their shared tongue seemed to be his language of choice.

[Sivan]

"O, mo leanabh milis samhraidh," Laurevere murmured to himself, long-suffering as ever. He told himself that he kept an eye out for Destyn so Sivan would have one less worry weighing him down, but his hand was upon Destyn's shoulder and not Sivan's. Gone were the days where he might have given the Fae a Look for touching him without permission. It all seemed to be going well enough to him, unless Destyn reacted poorly to the offer; yet these people seemed to know the potential and the needs of the seedling moreso than did their sweet summer child.

Sivan, for his part, was only too happy to feed the animals if not the spirits, elves, and Fae of Spring. His grasp of Velasren was not so fluent as Laurevere's, but he followed along well enough.

"We have been through quite a lot to foster it," their host said. "The climate and soil of Karnor are nothing like those of Ecith from what I gathered on my short sojourn there." He paused. He wondered if perhaps he ought to offer Torin's valley. It wasn't protected quite so much from the elements as his garden was, but its gritaeri had wanted a true winter there instead of the gentler version that Sivan allowed here. There it would be protected, though, and he assumed Torin would be happy to have a distant cousin of their friend there to guard it. He had known Destyn since his youth, which Sivan couldn't boast.

"Where do you propose to take it?" he asked.

Destyn was wont to react emotionally, so perhaps more information about what this small company had in mind would assuage his fears and knee-jerk reactions.

"Someplace Destyn would be allowed to visit at will, I'd imagine, with vast populations of delicious buggies for him to eat. Lest they chew on the sapling's tender leaves..."

The sapling was a mystery to him. He could sense its spirit, but its spirit was like a baby. It communicated need and occasionally what passed for affection from a tree, but hardly anything akin to what more complex spirits could share with elves and such. But even if it was a mystery to him, their words seemed to resonate with truth. It had the potential within it to become massive. He didn't want to stunt it like some sort of bonsai unless he absolutely had to in order to keep it alive, but even after all this time, they knew so little and these people seemed to know so much.

[Destyn]

“Ahh…” Destyn rested back on one heel, receiving the fellow fae’s answer with mixed emotions.

“It is good that you have come.” He answered in Common. “Spring is the season of birth and blooming, where Summer sustains. Your cultivation would be most welcome.” He conceded, looking over his shoulder somewhat wistfully at the tree. He knew it was not for him alone, but had hoped it might be his and here for longer.

“We will take it North, then.” He said, looking to Laurevere and then Sivan, “To Torin’s land.” It was the obvious choice and so he came to it independent of his present host.

“There is more space and it is, uhh… secluded? Compared to here. I will go to live there with it. I like it better there anyway.” He turned to Hin’tai’oth and added:

“Tá Avialae go dona ag eitilt. Níl sé sábháilte damhsa sna scamaill anseo.” He noted with a nose wrinkle.

“You will be careful, will you not? I do not want to baby tree to be hurt or distressed as it is, you know, moved.” He glanced down, scuffing his foot along the grass and looking a bit glum about this whole wrinkle in his plans, such as they were.

“I am sorry, Sivan, that a gap will be left in your garden. Do you have something else that you can plan there when the baby tree is gone and so am I?” There was no question in his mind that he would travel with the tree and make its canopy his home base moving forward. He might need to shuffle his beacon stones to accommodate this shift in priority, but he could figure that out.

“Will you visit me there, Sivan? …Laurevere?” To the other, newer friends he inquired:

“Might I ask of you a favour? It is not a simple one, but is, I think, important. To me.”

[Talisman]

"You have, and it shows," Kimith smiled at Sivan when he mentioned that the sapling had taken quite some doing to tend to and encourage its growth. She seemed familiar with it, and spirit sensed spirit, after all. But she had been around for a while, and she and Rath seemed in silent agreement as to what exactly it was. Whatever sort of tree this was, especially if it was of a variety native to Ecith, it would outgrow the garden. And they seemed convinced that that would happen sooner rather than later. They had had a bit of urgency to their request, considering that a Spring Fae, those of which tended to be rather obsessed with nature, was of the mind that such a tree needed to be moved even though they were now in the season of Frost.

While the small group was indeed the bearer of bad news, what with the fact that the sapling needed to be moved, they hadn't known quite how it would be taken. It could have gone either way - acceptance, or hostility. But it was taken well, and for that, they could be quite flexible in their plans. Compromise was key. When Sivan asked if they had a location in mind, Destyn answered before any of the three could. "If you feel that that is enough space, then that will be good. We had found some locations in the Wildking's Forge that would have been suitable, but if there is somewhere you have in mind, we are happy to go and see it. If it works, then we will transplant your Sapling there."

"D'fhéadfadh siad a dhéanamh níos fearr. Ach ar an mbealach seo ní gá go mbeadh do chrann timpeall orthu, agus beidh tú in ann taitneamh a bhaint as i bhfad níos mó," Hin'tai'oth offered in response, nodding solemnly at Destyn's words. "We will keep your baby tree safe together, I promise."

"We will show your tree the utmost care. It will not be harmed in this effort, nor in its move. We will make sure that everything is as it needs to be for it to thrive. And you are a woodsinger, no? An elementalist that is attuned to the Element of Wood. You can assist with making sure that its roots are tucked in. Sivan can also help, I'm sure," Rath winked at the other Elf. "Worry not about the hole that is left behind. I have something that may go well in it that may serve you and your garden well."

"Of course," Kimith nodded at Destyn's request, looking up at him with her large purple eyes. "How can we help you, Destynrael?" If there was a will, there was a way, and they should be able to put their heads together and figure out how they could probably help ease this transition.